Control for automatic liquid dispensing nozzle



June 3, 1958 w 13, BOQNE 2,837,240

CONTROL FOR AUTOMATIC LIQUID DISPENSING NOZZLE Filed March 14, 1956 I6 2| 4 E l 4 INVENTOR. WALLACE D. BOONE BY DES JARDINS FZQBINSON 8. KEISER H S ATTORNEYS CONTROL FOR AUTOMATIC LIQUID DISPENSING NOZZLE Wallace D. Boone, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to P W Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of flhio Application March 14, 1956, Serial No. 571,541 Claims. (Cl. 222-43 This invention relates to an automatic liquid dispensing nozzle, and it particularly pertains to an automatic dispensing nozzle for gasoline dispensers having one or more pins selectively moved into the path of movement of the free end of a manually operated lever, after said lever has been moved to open the control valve in the nozzle, and be frictionally engaged thereby to retain the lever in open position. The pin, however, is normally biased to retracted position, out of the path of movement of the free end of the lever, so that it will be retracted to release the lever when the frictional engagement therebetween is overcome and remains retracted until the pin is again manually moved into the path of the lever.

These automatic nozzles have, heretofore, been provided with latches in the form of one or more pivoted members attached as an accessory to the nozzle construction to engage the valve operating lever. Such pivoted latches are of involved construction and are not efiicient in operation.

Accordingly, one of the main objects of the present invention is an automatic dispensing nozzle provided with readily releasable slide holding means for being temporarily frictionally engaged by the valve operating lever for holding it to open position.

Another object of the invention is a slide holding means adapted to be temporarily frictionally engaged by the operating lever for the valve and readily releasable, and is simple in construction and eflicient in operation.

Another object of the invention is a slide holding means adapted to be temporarily frictionally engaged by the operating lever for the valve and can be readily adapted to any conventional automatic dispensing nozzle without making any change in the general construction of the nozzle.

Still another object of the invention is a slide holding means incorporated in the lever guard of the nozzle which is readily detachably connected to said nozzle.

, Still another object of the invention is an automatic dispensing nozzle provided with one or several slide holding means as may be desired for selectively holding the lever in any one of several valve opening positions.

Still another object of the invention is a holding device which is built into the nozzle, or a part thereof such as the guard, to be an integral part thereof a separate attachment.

Further objects, and objects relating to details of construction and economies of operation, will readily appear from the detailed description to follow. In one instance, the objects of the invention have been'accomplished by the device and means set forth in the following specification. The invention is clearly defined and pointed out in the appended claims. A structure constituting a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the.

accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in' which:'

. Fig.1 is a side elevation of an automatic liquid dispensing nozzle embodying the invention.

as distinct from ice Fig. 2 is a rear endview of the nozzle.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of the side opposite to that shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 2, showing one slide pin in frictional engagement with the lever. Fig. 5 is a sectional view, like Fig. 4, with the slide pin retracted out of the path of movement of the lever. Referring specifically to the drawings, in which like numeralsdesignate like parts, numeral 2 is a conventional automatic liquid nozzle having on one end a spout 3 adapted to be inserted in a tank that is to be filled.

This automatic nozzle is of the general construction described in application Serial No. 463,642, filed October 21, 1954 and Patent No. 2,582,195, and which application and patent are incorporated herein in full as a part of this specification for the disclosure of a type of conventional dispensing nozzle with which the present invention may be used. v

The lever guard 10 for the lever 5 is detachably connected to the nozzle by having oneend 11 fitted to the bottom of'main body 4 of the nozzle by a bolt 12 secured by a cotter pin and its opposite end fitted to the lug 13, on the bottom of the nozzle, by another bolt 14 secured by a cotter pin.

Mounted on the guard 10 are one or more slidable pins 15, each disposed to be selectively moved into the path of the movement of the free end 5' of the lever 5 for holding it in the selected open position. Three of these pins15 are shown in the drawings, two being disposed on one side of the guard and one on the other'side thereof. They are of similar construction but disposed at different elevations to engage the lever at different elevations so that any one of them may be selectively pushed into the path of movement of the free end of the lever 5 for holding it in any one of three selected open positions. For instance, the two pins on one side may be disposed with the top pin for maximum rate of flow of the liquid through the nozzle, the bottom one (for minimum rate of flow, and the single pin on the opposite side for intermediate rate of flow.

1 Each pin maybe of the same construction and similarly mounted on the guard, and, hence, only the construction of one is set forth in detail. They are disposed to hold the lever in open position at difierent selected elevations. 7

A pin 15 is slidably mounted in a housing bolt 16 having a cylindrical portion 18 which is eXteriorly threaded at 19 for being received into the interiorly screw-threaded socket 20 of an embossment21 on the" guard 10. This housingbolt 16 has an enlarged head 22 providing a shoulder 23 for abutting against the top end of the embossment 21 when the housing bolt is screwed home into the socket 20. The length oi the bolt housing 16 is such that it will not extend beyond the side wall 24 of the enlongated slot 25 formed in the 3 threaded socket 2 0. Hence an old assembly holding pin unit assembly can be readily replaced with a new one.

A spring 30 is inserted in the bore 27 with one end seated on shoulder 28 and its opposite end seated against an annular flange 31 on the pin 15. A cap 32 is pressfitted into the large bore 26, and it has an interiorly extending flange 33 providing a limit stop for the flange 31 on the pin. The Wall of the cap 32, surrounding the flange 31, provides a socket between said flange 31 and the shoulder 29 for confining and limiting the movement of the pin 15. This cap 32 has a central opening 34 through which the head 35 of the pin projects, said open ing conforming to the conformation of said head and providing a guide for centering the pin.

The bore of the outer end of the housing bolt 16 is reamed to provide an enlarged inclined wall 36 and gives ready accessto'the head 35 of the pin which is at all times in a plane below the outer end of the housing bolt. This protects the pin and prevents it from being accidentally hit. The outer end of the housing bolt is provided with transverse notches 36 for receiving a suitable tool for screwing said housing in and out of the socket.

The spring 30 normally biases the pin to retracted position as shown in Fig. 5, that is, with the end of the pin retracted from the slot 25 in the guard in which the free end of the lever moves. Any one of the several pins may be selectively pushed into the path of the lever as shown in Fig. 4, after said lever is raised to open the valve, thereby further compressing the spring 30 which is pre-compressed to suflicient extent for normally biasing the pin to retracted position.

In operation of the device, the operator inserts the spout of the nozzle in the tank to be filled, and, during the period of dispensing the liquid, any one of the pins may be selectively moved into the path of the free end of the lever, depending upon the desired rate of flow of the liquid, and the lever will hold the pin in frictional engagement therewith, the friction being just enough to overcome the bias of the pin spring. When the tank is full, the automatic nozzle mechanism releases the lever fulcrum point 7, allowing the main valve spring to close the nozzle valve. As soon as the main valve spring no longer exerts a force on'the lever, the pivot spring is sufficient toovercome the reduced friction between the lever end 5 and the holding pin and permits the spring 30 to retract said pin to its normal position (Fig. 5) out of the path of movement of the lever. This frictional engagement would also be overcome by the pin spring if the nozzle should he accidentally dropped or be unduly bumped or jarred, thereby reducing friction between the pin and the lever end. Accordingly, the operator does not need to manually hold the lever to opening position during the entire time that'the liquid is being dispensed but can raise the lever to be frictionally engaged by one of the holding pins, and then leave the nozzle with the spout inserted in the tank as the tank is filled, after which the valve will automatically close and release the hold ing pin.

\Vith the holding pin built into the nozzle as an integral thereof, the pins can be so arranged that the operator knows by location and tool which one is-to be selected for the desired rate of'fiow. The single pin with the intermediate rate of flow and most often used is on one side, with the other two pins for the maximum and minimum rate of flow being'on the other side, and the one for maximum rate of flow being above the others. The built-in-part is the-guard which can be made standard for any and all types of automatic dispensing nozzles without 'chan'ging' them other than'by replacing the guard.

It is understood that there-may be various changes in details of construction without departing'from the spirit of the invention, and, therefore, the invention is broadly claimed as indicated by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and useful and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

. 1. An automatic filling nozzle, provided with a dis pensing passage leading to a discharge spout adapted to be inserted in a container, comprising a valve normally biased to close the dispensing passage, a lever for opening the valve, said lever moving through a path between open and closed positions of said valve, a pin slidably mounted on the nozzle in position for being moved into the path of the lever for holding said lever in valve opening position, and means for biasing the pin out of the path of the lever.

2. The automatic filling nozzle of claim 1 in which a plurality of separate and independent lever holding pins, are each slidably mounted on said nozzle as a separate and independent unit, for selectively holding the lever in different valve opening positions.

3. An automatic filling nozzle, provided with a dispensing passage leading to a discharge nozzle adapted to be inserted in a container, comprising a valve normally spring-biased to close the dispensing passage, a lever for opening the valve, said lever moving through a path between open and closed positions of. said valve, a pin slidably mounted in the nozzle in position for being moved into the path of the lever and be frictionally engaged thereby for holding'said lever in valve opening position, and-spring means for normally biasing the pin out of the path of the lever.

4. The automatic'filling'nozzle of claim 3 ,in which a plurality of separate and independent lever holding pins are, each slidably mounted on said nozzle as a separate and independent unit, for selectively holding the lever in difierent valve openingpositions.

5. In combination with an automatic nozzle having an operating lever for opening a valve mounted in the nozzle, a guard for the lever detachab-ly fittedto the nozzle, said guard providing a track for said-lever in its path of movement between valve opening and valve closing positions and a pluralityofipins slidably mounted on the guard, each a separate vandindependent unit, in position for one to be selectivelymoved into the path of the lever and be frictionally engaged thereby, .and means for normally biasing the one v or .more pins out of the path of the lever. p

6. In combination with an automatic. nozzle having an operating lever for opening a valve mounted in the nozzle, a guard for the lever detachahly fitted to the nozzle, a .pin slidably mounted .on the. -,guard in position to be moved into the path of the .lever for holding said lever in valve opening position, and means for biasing the pin out of the path of the lever.

7. A readily detachable guard for the lever of .an automatic filling nozzle having a valve, .-said guard providing a track for said lever in its path of movementfbetween valve opening and valve closing positions .andhavinga pin slidably mounted on-the guard .and adapted to be moved to projectinto thepath of thenozzle'lever for being frictionally engaged bysaid lever, andspring means for-biasing thepinoutof the path ofsaid lever.

8. Ajreadily detachable guard for the leverof an automatic filling nozzle having ,a valve, .s-aid. guard providing a track for said lever in its path o'fmovement between valve opening and valveclosing positions and-having one or more pins slidably mountedon the ,guard for one to be selectively moved-to project :into the .path of .the nozzle lever for beingifrictionally engaged by said lever, and spring means for biasing the pins out of the path of the lever.

A gua for n a tom dispen ng nozzl ,p vided with a -slot 'for receiving the end o'fthe nozzle lever when said guard is attached to saidrn'ozzle, a housing bolt detachably mounted in'the guard "adjacent the slot having a bore therethrough opening out from opposite ends, a pin ofless length than said housing'bolt slidably 5 6 mounted in the bore thereof, with one end adapted to References Cited in the file of, this patent project into the slot, and means forbiasing the pin re- UNITED STATES PATENTS .tracted from said slot.

10. The guard of claim 9 in which a housing bolt 2,104,990 Hoefflel 1933 with the pin therein is mounted on opposite sides of the 5 2,5 8,747 Gravelle Nov. 7, 1950 slot. 

